‘PLAY our way or risk losing the game’ – Swindon Town head coach Scott Lindsey says his players will be given a very clear message in the build-up to their League Two clash away at Stevenage on Saturday.

In-form Stevenage come into the contest second in the table after winning nine of their opening dozen fixtures this term.

Meanwhile, Town have an identical record over the past five games – taking 12 points on their way up to eighth.

The two sides have built the foundations for a successful campaign by playing in contrasting styles, and Lindsey believes Swindon’s high risk, high reward method can momentarily de-rail the Hertfordshire club.

But any attempt to beat Stevenage at their own game is unlikely to produce the result which those from Wiltshire are looking for.

Lindsey said: “They (Stevenage) are very similar to Sutton, we obviously won in that game, but we’ve got to concentrate on us as well.

“We’ve got to concentrate on how we can hurt them and what we can do. We’ve got to play our way. If we get sucked into what they want us to do, they’ll more than likely win the game.

“We can’t move away from what we want to do and how we want to play, and that’s the message the players will be getting.”

After finishing in 21st last season, Stevenage have picked up where they left off under manager Steve Evans this year thanks to some inspired recruitment.

Bringing in the likes of Michael Bostwick, Danny Rose, and David Amoo has helped Boro overhaul the quality in their squad and transform the club’s fortunes on the pitch.

Analysing Stevenage in his pre-match press conference, Lindsey said: “They’re a really strong side with a very experienced manager in Steve Evans – there are some very experienced people in the dugout too.

“They’ve got really good experience on the pitch as well with some good players. They have some real threats at the top of the pitch in Luke Norris and Danny Rose, some experience in the middle of the park in terms of (Michael) Bostwick and Ben Reeves – who used to play here.

“And then they have some real strength at the back as well in (Terrence) Van Cooten, (Dan) Sweeney, and (Carl) Piergianni.

“They’re very direct, they’ll ask questions of us, they’ll put the ball forward at every opportunity – but it’s nothing different to what we’ve faced already this season. But they’re very good at it, very efficient, so it’s another tough game.”